Courtesan as Tekkai (Li Tieguai), from the series Courtesans Viewed as the Immortals of Ressenden, One of Seven (Keisei mitate Ressenden, shichiban no uchi) c. 1824

Curator: Yashima Gakutei's "Courtesan as Tekkai," part of the series "Courtesans Viewed as the Immortals of Ressenden," presents a fascinating blend of the earthly and divine. Editor: It feels melancholic, almost ethereal. The soft colors and delicate lines give the figure a dreamy, otherworldly quality. Curator: The print borrows from the legend of Tekkai Sennin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoist belief. Gakutei cleverly substitutes the immortal with a courtesan. Editor: The substitution is loaded, isn't it? Placing a woman from the floating world within a narrative typically reserved for male figures of spiritual transcendence. What's he saying about their social position? Curator: Perhaps he's elevating their status. The series hints at the complex roles these women occupied within Edo society and popular imagination. Editor: I see it as a commentary on identity and imposed roles, where power dynamics often blur the line between freedom and constraint, and between the sacred and the profane. Curator: The details, like the emerging spirit, and the courtesan's contemplative pose, provide layers of interpretation that continue to resonate. Editor: It makes you wonder about the real-life stories behind the geishas portrayed, their dreams, their realities within a rigid social hierarchy.